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Post by <Raintalon> on Jan 17, 2017 21:26:17 GMT -5
Sawyer, now freed from the second walker, stabbed the third one down. It slumped to the ground, and for a moment, Sawyer just stood there. Staring, shell-shocked, at the first blood her knife had ever known. The first walker she'd ever killed. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to steady herself.
Ryker rolled over, firing at the walker. Four bullets, and finally he hit it. He fired at one of the others, but missed. He dragged himself into a sitting position. "Opal, run! I'll hold them off, go find Sawyer and Seth!" He shouted something in Dutch.
Ginger came running and instantly latched onto the third walker's face, preventing it from doing much more than flopping uselessly.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jan 17, 2017 21:33:11 GMT -5
Opal staggered to her feet, clutching her sling close to her body as she ran, not needing to be told twice.
Another walker dropped, landing in its back and snarling angrily as it twisted towards Benjamin's warm body, teeth clicking.
"Oh. Your first?" Seth's lips compressed as he gazed at her for a couple seconds, wiping his forehead. "If you wanna hurl, it's cool, I won't judge."
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Post by <Raintalon> on Jan 17, 2017 21:38:09 GMT -5
"I'll get back to you on that." said Sawyer. She stood still for a moment, clutching her stomach and taking deep, gasping breaths. "Okay...no. I think I'm good." She managed a weak smile and held up a small package. "I found a med kit."
"Dammit..." Ryker leaned heavily against the wall, using it as a brace, and got to his feet. Vision swimming, he headed towards the walker, wanting to get closer before he fired.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jan 17, 2017 21:45:57 GMT -5
"That'll come in handy." Seth scooped up a small object off the floor, moving it into the light to get a good look at it. "Look. popcorn." He exclaimed, waving it around excitedly. "I'm starved. Let's find a microwave."
"Ryker's in trouble!" Opal burst into the room, breathing hard and leaning on the door frame for support.
Apparently, there were quite a few upstairs, as another one dropped on top of the other, which had just stood up and now made a horrible splattering sound.
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Post by <Raintalon> on Jan 17, 2017 21:50:28 GMT -5
Sawyer's eyes widened. "Come on!" she called, running full speed back towards the hall.
Soon, Ryker was rejoined by all three of them. "We have to get out of here - we're taking Benjamin with us." he said, not daring to fire with so many people in the room. "Hurry!" He started to head for the door, in danger of collapsing from dizziness.
"Where did they all come from?" cried Sawyer, trying and failing to lift Ben off the ground.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jan 17, 2017 21:56:08 GMT -5
"They were in the ceiling." Opal answered, grabbing Ben's arms and pulling it over her shoulder with difficulty. "Come on, there's so many of them..."
Seth wasn't nearly as cautious, unloading his gun on walkers left and right as he dashed for the exit.
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Post by <Raintalon> on Jan 17, 2017 21:58:48 GMT -5
Ryker stumbled, running into the wall and beginning to sink down it, vision going dark again.
Sawyer stumbled under Ben's weight, but reached the door. "Please tell me someone knows how to hotwire a car!" she said, spotting several that were parked nearby.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jan 17, 2017 22:06:47 GMT -5
"How the hell would I know that?!" Opal's voice was high with panic and exertion as she lugged the man forward, her back and arms sweating despite the cold.
Seth turned, his eyes catching sight of Ryker as he did so. Swearing under his breath, he whacked a walker over the head with his gun and made it over, dragging the other man to his feet. "Come on, move, you lump..."
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Post by <Raintalon> on Jan 17, 2017 22:10:35 GMT -5
"Well, someone better!" said Sawyer, heading straight for one of the cars. She dumped Ben in the back and shut the door - that would keep him safe enough.
Ryker grunted, getting half-dragged towards the same car. Several walkers broke down the half-rotted door and headed in their general direction. "I know how..." muttered Ryker. "Just get me over there - I'll try to explain."
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jan 17, 2017 22:15:56 GMT -5
Seth dragged him towards the car, not bothering to be particularly gentle. "Better start talking, we're losing time." He answered, gritting his teeth against the effort.
Opal hopped into the back as well, knowing it would be best for her to be out of the way. Besides, this way there was no chance she'd be left behind.
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Post by <Raintalon> on Jan 17, 2017 22:19:10 GMT -5
"Ok, ok..." said Ryker, slumping against the side of the car. "Look under the steering wheel...if you take off the cover, you'll see a green and a red wire."
"Better hurry!" said Sawyer, loading Ginger into the back of the car and piling into the back seat with Ben and Opal. She stole a nervous glance outside, seeing the walkers approaching fast.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jan 17, 2017 22:23:00 GMT -5
Seth yanked off the cover, searching fruitlessly for a minute before seeing the wires. "Wait, I think I remember this. Cut the red one, yeah?"
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Post by <Raintalon> on Jan 17, 2017 22:28:29 GMT -5
"No!" said Ryker hurriedly. "Carefully peel some of the cover off of the green and the red, then touch those together. Don't - don't touch the wire part, the shock'll kill you."
"Guys!" called Sawyer as several more walkers came pouring out of the building.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jan 17, 2017 22:31:43 GMT -5
"Guys, hurry up." Opal echoed, heart pounding. That many monsters, and they wouldn't have a chance.
"Okay okay, I remember now." Seth peeled back the cover, working as fast as he could. When the two wires were exposed, he touched them together, taking care to keep his fingers back.
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Post by <Raintalon> on Jan 17, 2017 22:33:34 GMT -5
...and the car came to life with the satisfying hroom of the engine whirring. Ryker pulled himself up into the passengers' seat, just as the first walker slammed into the window. "GO!"
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jan 17, 2017 22:39:22 GMT -5
Seth slammed his foot down on the petal, righting himself in his seat and gripping the steering wheel as another walker reached his window. He turned, speeding for the closest way out that wouldn't destroy the car and leaning forward.
Opal caught her breath as the car came on, slouching down to avoid being thrown too hard as the vehicle acceleration under her.
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Post by <Raintalon> on Jan 18, 2017 9:03:39 GMT -5
Several hours later
Ryker was still in the passengers' seat. He was out cold from the Tylenol, and had a bandage wrapped around his head.
Ben opened his eyes, suddenly, quietly, and without further movement. His head was angled towards the window, so unless you were looking at him from a certain angle, it would be hard to tell he'd moved at all. His eyes darted from the window to what he could see of the front seat without moving his head, and his right hand moved a quarter of an inch to feel for his gun. Gone. Knife? Gone. Weaponless. He looked back out the window, taking in the relative isolation of the open fields, empty except for a few cows and a few walkers. No chance of escape, then.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jan 18, 2017 12:25:06 GMT -5
Seth was driving, whistling quietly to himself and tapping the steering wheel as he went. He was quite relieved that Ryker was asleep, as it meant the other wouldn't be doubting his trustworthiness behind the wheel for at least a while longer. He was looking at Ben, nor had he bothered to offer his loot to any of the others, making him quite well off.
Opal was snoring gently in the backseat, curled with her cheek against the window. Her baby sling was empty, giving Ben no indication of its purpose if he were to look.
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Post by <Raintalon> on Jan 18, 2017 12:30:08 GMT -5
Sawyer had also fallen asleep - once the adrenaline had faded, she'd been left with total exhaustion.
After another moment of consideration, Ben finally turned his head to look at Seth. "Hmm, it's like a sleeping curse was cast in here." he commented. "You have any food?" he asked, wincing as he touched the lump on his head where Opal had hit him. "Being hit over the head and kidnapped really takes it out of you."
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jan 18, 2017 12:36:00 GMT -5
Seth's head turned sharply, then returned to the road ahead of him, showing no other sign of surprise or concern. "I know." He answered easily, as if making small talk. "It's not lunch break, though, and I can't be caught showing favouritism. Bad for the reputation." Smirking to himself, he allowed the car to wander between the lanes as he spoke.
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Post by <Raintalon> on Jan 18, 2017 12:39:27 GMT -5
Ben rolled his eyes. "Alright, alright alright alright alright alright STOP!" he shouted suddenly, pulling out a gun he had on him from who-knows-where, and pointing it right at Sawyer's head. She woke with a startled gasp and froze, eyes wide. "Pull over." he demanded, cocking the hammer for emphasis.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jan 18, 2017 12:43:29 GMT -5
"She isn't actually the person who hit you, you know." Seth commented lightly, splotched eyes flicking from the gun to Ben's face and back. He shrugged, as if completely unbothered by this change in events, and slowed the car to a stop in the middle of the road. "All right, now what? You gonna ride off into the death-infected sunset, are you?"
Opal jerked awake as Sawyer did, clapping her hand over her mouth when she saw the gun. "Please don't shoot, please don't shoot, please don't.."
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Post by <Raintalon> on Jan 18, 2017 12:56:30 GMT -5
Ben exited the car, grabbing Opal's shirt and dragging her roughly over Sawyer and with him. He made his way over to the driver's side where Seth was. "Get out." he commanded. "Get out, all of you. Line up."
Sawyer obeyed hastily, lining up on the side of the road with Opal. Ryker, of course, didn't move, but Ben didn't seem to mind. Ginger could be heard barking from the back seat, but without someone to open it she couldn't do anything.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jan 18, 2017 14:39:02 GMT -5
Seth got out, raising his eyebrows at Ben and cocking his head. "What are you gonna do, hmm? Shoot us all and stuff yourself with chowder?" His hands rested on his head, and he found himself standing beside Sawyer at the end of the line, not close enough to let Ginger out.
"Look, we only kidnapped you because there were monsters all over the building, if we'd left you behind you would have been killed or turned, we were helping you!" Opal's voice rose almost hysterically as she spoke, her tongue tripping over itself in its haste to speak.
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Post by <Raintalon> on Jan 18, 2017 14:44:48 GMT -5
"Yeah, sure. Do yourselves a favor and shut up." he said, quickly stripping them of their knives and guns before backing up and eyeing them all. "You know...I should really just shoot you all." he said, flashing a smile and shaking his head. "I mean - I expected any Salvaje ******** lackeys to be dumb, but...you guys take the cake." He chuckled to himself for a few more moments before raising the gun at full height again. "Alright, anyway. You know the drill. Everybody back in the car, before I decide I only need three of you."
Sawyer exchanged an anxious, puzzled glance at Seth, wondering if he had any more idea of what was going on than she did.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jan 18, 2017 14:52:08 GMT -5
Seth stared at the man in front of him, and slowly he discovered why he had taken Ben's threats so seriously: there was obviously something quite wrong with him. Well, he reasoned, burying all your friends and family, plus whatever else had happened, would do that to you. Still, being held at gunpoint by a nutcase had not been on his bucket list. "Don't worry. We all wanted to be in the car anyway, it's why we stole it instead of the Ferrari." He answered reassuringly, opening the front door and hopping lightly inside. They hadn't been shot yet, which meant he had a reason for keeping them alive.
Opal obeyed, casting a frightened look in Ryker's direction before scrambling back into the car. Hades was awake, sitting in the backseat and blinking around him in confusion.
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Post by <Raintalon> on Jan 18, 2017 14:58:39 GMT -5
Ben hopped into the front seat, smiling cheerfully at them before revving up the engine. "Oh-kay. You all ready to find your friends? I bet they'll be really pleased that you got yourselves captured, huh?" He steered the car into a steep u-turn and started to drive back the same way they'd just come.
"No, please don't take us back to them!" piped up Sawyer, voice uncharacteristically high. "You...you know what they do to people who mess up!"
"Yeah, and I don't really care. You take my house, you knock me out, you take my car. I've really had enough of you people." said Ben, before lapsing back to silence.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jan 18, 2017 15:06:53 GMT -5
"Be quiet, Sawyer, he's not gonna listen to reason." Seth said in a tired voice, catching on instantly. "Anyway, what does it matter? Good chance of bullets meeting brain either way."
Opal squirmed, without context she had no way to know that this discussion was fabricated.
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Post by <Raintalon> on Jan 18, 2017 18:27:31 GMT -5
A good three hours later, Benjamin stopped the car near a small outcrop that you couldn't quite see the top of. He got out of the car and shut the door behind him. "Everyone get out." he demanded. Ryker was awake now - he stumbled tiredly from the car but was now able to stand. Sawyer obeyed, too exhausted from adrenaline to do anything other than glance between Ryker, Seth, and Opal. He lined them up at the foot of the hill and circled them, gun at the ready. "Alright, here's your guys. All four of them, plus a dog if you can get to it." He tapped his foot, waiting impatiently for whoever it was to show up.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jan 18, 2017 18:38:19 GMT -5
Opal was hugging herself tightly, staring at the place Benjamin was pointing with wide eyes. Her face felt oddly stiff...oh. She licking her lips, realizing that she'd been unable to swallow back her frightened tears.
Seth stood with his hands crossed, appearing quite relaxed. He was the nearest to Ben, on the other side of Ryker, and shot a small wink in the ex-soldier's direction.
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